Digital Artwork Requirements

Digital Artwork Requirements

Line drawings of label roll directionsAccepted artwork file formats for digital printing:
Adobe Illustrator (.ai) / Adobe Illustrator Encapsulated Post Script (.eps)

Adobe Photoshop (.psd / .tif)

Portable Document Format (.pdf)

Artwork requirements:
CMYK color mode, no RGB. Please include all fonts or text converted to outlines, images, linked graphics or embed them in the file.

Black text should be 100% black, not a build.

PDF and Photoshop files are acceptable for CMYK printing only (no white ink separations). White ink separations should be done in Illustrator (see instructions below).

Do not convert PMS colors to CMYK in your software; our press will render the color conversion more accurately. Pantone colors have to use the Pantone Solid Coated library only.

Submit final art only. Any edits after initial submission may be subject to additional charges.

A die line must be in the submitted file. The die line should be on a separate layer and colored as a spot color and specifically be named “Dieline” (one word, case sensitive).
No additional guide lines, bleed indicators, margin indicators or call-outs should be in the artwork.

All artwork must have a minimum bleed of 1/16 (.0625) of an inch (bleed is the extension of the artwork beyond the die-cut/label trim area).

All text and artwork borders must be inset with a minimum margin of 1/16 (.0625) of an inch from the die-cut edge/label trim area.

All UPC codes should be colored 100% solid black on a white or very light background and have a minimum left and right quiet space of 3/16 (.1875) of an inch. UPC codes should be scaled no smaller than 80% of their default 100% size.

Any color match samples must be provided with the initial order.

Managing file sizes:
300 pixels per inch for raster images (Photoshop graphics) is considered print quality resolution.

Artwork submitted with a resolution below 300 pixels per inch may be rejected based on poor quality.

Artwork with a resolution above 300 pixels per inch may be rejected based on the file sizes being too large. Even the largest and most complex label designs should rarely exceed 10 megabytes.

Raster images should always be resized and/or cropped in Photoshop, and placed at 100% scale in Illustrator.

Artwork that extends beyond the artwork bounds should always be cropped-off, NOT MASKED.

Illustrator vector graphics with anchor points that extend beyond the artwork edge should always be deleted, not masked.

For artwork printing on clear material or metallic material and supported with white ink:
All white graphics need to be called-out on a separate artwork layer, colored a separate swatch and named ‘White”, case sensitive.

For graphics that are to be backed with white ink, the white must be a duplicate, one-to-one coverage, meaning the white ink separation is the exact same size and shape as the graphics it will be backing.